Stay The Night
by newyorkvermillion
Summary: New York Vermillion gets a job at Stark Industries at the behest of Tony Stark. She has knowledge of questions Tony needs answered. Tony StarkxOC oneshot OOC Tony Stark


You pulled again at the hem of your pencil black skirt. It stopped just above your knees hugging your body, the white blouse you wore was ruffled at the sleeves and buttoned up nearly to your neck, it made you uncomfortable but it was the only professional outfit you had cleaned for today.

Or for like…ever.

Note to self: make time for laundry.

The room was cold and plain, the chair you sat in was a small silver metal contraption with very limited back support.

Nothing about this moment felt right but you crossed your legs and waited for the next question.

"I see here that in the first grade you were suspended for stealing a teacher's phone? Care to explain?"

Your eyebrows went up in surprise, why would they look back that far? God, what are you doing here?

There it is again, a question you've been asking yourself since you got up at six this morning.  
What are you doing here?

Then several weeks before this interview flashes into your mind like a wild fast paced movie.

It was a month after your college graduation; you have saved up your refund checks, pay checks from work, and tips to be able to afford your first apartment. It was small and needed improvement, the air would go out in the middle of night, the bathroom light flickered no matter how many times you changed the bulb, and there was some mysterious clanking sound coming from the pantry that you refused to acknowledge because the chance that something might be alive in your walls was too much for your fragile post college mind.

It had problems but it was yours.

Your first task as a functioning adult was to find an actual job because your reserve money wasn't going to last too much longer and you couldn't keep working at some indie coffee shop that no one had heard of when a mainstream Starbucks was just around the corner, let's face it, it was only a matter of time before you'll be laid off.  
Luckily you gave up a social life in college to double major in computer engineering and software engineering with a minor in information systems. You had skill it was okay to admit that and glowing recommendations from your professors, they admitted to not knowing much about your personality but you were a great student and your grades reflected that.

This landed you a job at Stark Industries. This was big for several reasons. Working at Stark industries meant you were working for Tony Stark and you would have to be living under a rock in another galaxy not to know that Tony Stark was in fact Iron Man.

You weren't under any illusions about the world as it is today, there are constant threats to it, threats that are made up of nightmares and your worst fears, things that send chills down your spine and make every day of life worth living.  
But for every one of these threats there were people fighting, this group of superhuman, super powered, super handsome beings that protected your world, male and female.  
You saw them on the news all the time along with all the destruction. They have always been there and now you were working for one of them.  
Yes you will probably never see Tony Stark himself because you work on the first floor surrounded by dozens and dozens of people doing exactly what you were but still it was pretty grand.

You were only at work for two weeks when it happened, the first event that lead to your whole life spinning out of control.

You had just came back from eating lunch alone at the Subway from up the street, it's where you got most of your meals, you'll even swing by after work to grab something too.  
Hey, it was fast, cheap, and a great deal less greasy than McDonalds, so you know win-win.  
You came through the lobby scanning your id habitually walking your way down the hall. You went through a maze of cubicles until you made it to your workspace. You're about to sit down when you see that almost everyone was beating their keyboards and hitting their computer monitors cursing the world and trying to sell their souls for their devices to work so they can meet the day's quota.

You sit down slowly in your rolling chair eyebrows pulled together in confusion, you wanted to ask someone what was going on but you never spoke to anyone in the office and even this moment wasn't enough for you to break your social awkwardness that has accompanied you throughout life.  
So you swing around to your desk and turn on your computer but instead of your normal start up settings you were met with the binary code running across the screen, the numbers moved so fast that it was almost a blur. Then your desktop popped up and all the files on your computer were being downloaded somewhere.

There was sudden collected cry of everyone on the floor and it didn't take much deduction that the same file transfer was happening to everyone.

"It's taking everything!" One person yelled.

"What is this?" Another person speaking up, desperate for anyone to answer.

"Something wrong, something is really wrong!" They were all panic cries, this wasn't a normal glitch. Someone was very purposely breaking into the Stark database and taking all the information they could.

The screen flashed back to the numbers of 0 and 1 certain sections standing out more than others. You looked at the screen and your eyes just filtered across it like you were reading a Dr. Seuss book.

You started to see something, a pattern or maybe a message?

It was suddenly gone again, just as quickly as it showed up and it was almost done taking everyone's files, some people were running around saying it was happening on all 103 floors of the building.

You get up and go to another desk where someone had left probably to scream about how this is really bad, you briefly think that there should be some sort of conduct for this other than mindless panicking and screeching. You read their screen and started to see the pattern again before it went back to the desktop and showed the downloading files.  
It all clicked without warning, all the information slammed into you at once.

You saw it, what was happening this attack that worked faster than anything you ever seen, yousaw it.

There was a way to maybe counter the attack, but you couldn't do it from your computer it didn't have the capacity not like the main ones on the top floors.  
You stood up straight and fidgeted with your hands, your heart was speeding up with every second because you knew all that Stark was responsible for and if all that went away projects all over the world would collapse, projects that save lives and powered the world forward.

No matter how uncomfortable, awkward, scared, or insecure you are you couldn't let that happen and live with it.  
So you head towards the elevators.

It was even more chaos there, people in nice black suits with ear pieces walked around talking to each, you couldn't tell when they were speaking to each other or into their headsets.

You felt out of place, you never been here and you shouldn't be here but you went on despite the bubbling feelings telling you to go the opposite way.  
There was a layout of computers like downstairs but these weren't the ones you needed, the bigger ones were somewhere else. You scanned the floor seeing past the people running around and spot a room that has a lot of traffic coming in and out of it.

You hurry there, around the desks and suits bumping a few people but none of them having the care to say sorry, higher priorities obviously.  
The door is guarded as you come up to it. The two men standing outside stop you dead in your tracks with just a look.

"No, Mr. Stark we haven't—I understand you are busy but whatever this is—yes—Mr. Stark, I know I'm just trying—" You peer into the room, it's almost empty with just a long dark wood desk with the computer on top placed in the middle. It didn't even look like people came in this room. The woman who was on the phone apparently, was standing in front the computer with a couple of other people, they hovered over the screen typing away murmuring to each other.

She was on the phone with Tony Stark.

You take another step closer to the door and a hand comes to your shoulder halting you.

"You're not allowed here." The man on the left with a blank gaze and holding you back told you.

"I-I…" your voice seems to disappear, dries up and you can't speak because you are wholly intimidated.

"Please go back to your designated area." He says dropping his hand and nodding toward the direction you came from.

"Uh…I can't…I mean, I can because…I can…but I can't…" Your voice cracks on your last word and you clamp your lips together swallowing hard.

"Ma'am this isn't the time for nonsense. Serious things are going on and we need you to return back to where you are suppose to be or we will remove you ourselves." This time the man on the right spoke, he vaguely reminded you of Arnold Schwarzenegger but just in appearance his voice was typical douchebag body guard American.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I can help…I know what's going on." You try to sound convincing.

"Ma'am—"The Arnold look alike was about to make another attempt to get rid of you.

You could see you were getting on his nerves at this point but you caught the attention of the woman in the room.

"Let her in." She demanded holding the phone away for only a half of second. The Arnold look alike was nodding for you to go ahead in the room and not sparing you a second glance.

"Who are you?" She asked urgently her words coming out like a hiss.

You open your mouth to answer but then she was talking again and cutting you off.

"Doesn't matter, get over here, what do you mean you know what's going on?"

You go around the desk the other two men who were working there move out of the way without you having to ask, as you began to bend over the keyboard you feel your id badge being pulled from where it was clipped to your shirt by the woman on the phone.

You hear your information on your badge being read out loud to the people in the room and to Tony Stark on the other end, you can only imagine what he's saying.  
You start working to explain the pattern and saying that if you can guess the next move you can launch a counter attack and stop the downloading of the files before it's complete.

Your fingers move in a blur over the keys like your only purpose in life was to type.

You moved around in the computer clicking and digging, it was exhilarating because with each click you got closer, you felt the pressure of everyone's eyes on you but it didn't matter, you were reaching a new level internally.

You could hear vaguely the woman explaining to Mr. Stark what was going on.

"I know you can't come right away but you should see what she's doing it's…it's fascinating…no she's not building a multibillion dollar empire…no not that either…yes Mr. Stark you were the only one…yes…"

You can't help but to crack a small smile, you shouldn't be surprised that Tony Stark's ego wouldn't let him share the spotlight.

One last button and the screen went black, everyone in the room held their breath for the whole eight seconds the computer stayed off, it then blinked on and said all files were being restored then it ran a security check as if everything was normal.

People outside the room cheered all out once saying it was over and thanking Mr. Stark, of course giving him credit for the save.

"It's fixed, we'll do some routine stuff and make sure, but she did it." The woman kept hold of the phone; you could barely hear the voice on the other end.  
"Will do, see you then." The woman ended the call and gave you a swift up and down look.

"You're coming with me." You could tell in her voice that this wasn't an option.

The next few hours you spend in a room on the top floor with this woman explaining how you knew what to do, how it was a leap of faith, and how you only just started working at Stark Tower.

You were told to clean out your desk on the first floor because you will be moved to one of the offices upstairs.

Mr. Stark wanted to meet with you but the world's problems had come first and that meeting never came.

Three weeks later you were in your new office it was just for you and the pay was pretty hefty. There wasn't room for complaint until…well until your floor was taken hostage by three men demanding Stark's bank account numbers and specific valuable information.

The thing is you were about to go to the elevator when you saw three men by the window talking in hushed voices, you always pay attention you were just wired that way, don't say much but see everything and you noticed the bulkiness of their jackets, the way their eyes shifted, and the sweat forming on their foreheads.

It was a long shot and it would probably get you fired but you took out your phone turning back toward your office and quickly logged onto the company website within seconds you sent out a massive e-mail to all the lower floors and the security about a code blue.

Now you regretted the second you did it because maybe it was a move out of paranoia but almost nine seconds after that a man yelled.

"EVERYONE DOWN, WE ARE ARMED."

Yeah looking back…good call.

Later you will find out that the other 102 floors were able to evacuate, which is good because if these guys went real postal there's no telling how many people they could have hurt on their way out. Before you drop to the floor you touch the thermostat on the side wall turning it up close to 97 degrees.

Later this heat will kick in and the guys holding you hostage get so hot they take off their gloves and jackets, in the process of one of them taking off their jacket you jump up mostly because one person had already been shot in the leg and was steadily bleeding out. These guys had no reservations about killing someone to get what they want.  
If you were to have one brave moment in your life this was it, adrenaline running you jump up and with a swift knee to the groin the guy is down.

"DUCK!" Someone yells and you react fast falling to the ground as bullets speed past the space you were just standing, you hear them shatter glass and hit the wall, the ringing of the gunshots in your ear along with a couple of screams.

The two other guys were so distracted shooting at you that the other employees were able to tackle them to the ground from behind, taking a cue from you, which hey you were finally a trendsetter so kudos.

Now later on these employees were rewarded greatly with raises and vacation time but you were sent into a room to once again be interrogated.

They knew it was you who sent the email, they watched you on camera turn up the thermostat, and they watched your one moment of courage.

They, whoever they were, wanted you.

Now you sit in a white plain room, in this uncomfortable chair, with an even more uncomfortable skirt.

This person behind the desk said that this is a job interview for a higher position than what you been doing but you couldn't imagine what was higher than what you been doing, you were only in college for four years.

This job interview though…it wasn't normal at all.

You were picked up by what you can only describe as men in black, their car was a black SUV with tinted windows, and you were driven to another part of the city. A part where the buildings started to look more abandoned, the people on the street were dirty and weary from life in general. You watched trash blow down an alley way and suddenly you were turning into a secluded parking lot. You were at a building you never seen before, it was tall and compared to the ones around it slightly nice, at least all the windows had intact glass panes. You observe it a little more and decided it reminded you of the downtown banks, tall brick buildings that been around since the 1960s. When you go inside though, it was complete opposite, it was sleek black tile and golden door knobs.

At all times you were escorted by the men in black suits. They didn't speak to you but you couldn't find yourself talking to them either. You were taken to the interview room where things just picked up in the weird department.

The questions that were asked weren't normal questions for a job interview that much was obvious.  
The interviewer asked about your family but the phrasing is what made it strange.

"Who would miss you if you happened to go missing or become suddenly deceased?"

Your dad had left when you were a baby, your mom died of breast cancer when you were a junior in college, you had an aunt somewhere but she doesn't contact you so as far as she knows you could be dead anyway and no siblings.

They asked about your experience in all aspects of life not just academic, where have you traveled, seen, done.  
The sad answer to that was nowhere, no one, and nothing.

And now they are bringing up an incident from the first grade.

"I see here you were suspended in the first grade for stealing a teacher's phone. Care to explain?"

"Uh…well I had every intention of giving back it's just at the time it was a new phone like very high tech and again at the time and even as a kid I was fascinated with technology my curiosity got the better of me, suspension I thought was a little much but—"

"Do you know why you're here?" You immediately stop speaking and just shake your head no.

"You display amazing talent and potential. You have caught the eye of Mr. Stark himself."

You frown only because you never even seen him in person so how is that possible?

"I have?"

"Yes, your kind of expertise is of value to a very, very special and secretive organization known as SHIELD."

The name rings only a small bell, maybe you seen a uniform or two on TV during the mass chaos of post villainous attacks.

"You see what happens on the news. You know there are heroes out there but these super heroes these gifted men and women need help too and that's where you come in, that's where people like you come in." The interviewer speaks slowly and carefully, you realize they are trying emphasize that something important is going on.

"Okay…" because that's seriously all you can say right now.

"I'm going to offer you a job with SHIELD right now; you will go immediately into training and start working with us if you accept. That's all the information I can give you at this time, if you refuse then you will be sent back to your place at Stark Industries. I know this is a decision that you would need time to consider but I can't offer you that time, I need an answer in the next five minutes."

Your mouth fell slightly open as if you were going to speak but you didn't, you couldn't.

"Listen miss, that day you acted with blind courage and because of that you saved lives, more than I can explain to you because what those men were after could have destroyed so much and so many. Those lives are still threaten even at this moment, you can contribute to saving this world on a daily basis or you can go back to an office space and do nothing extraordinary for the rest of your life. I'm Agent Coulson and we have a place for you. "

You accepted the job.

The man who interviewed you tells you that your apartment has gone on the market and you will be allowed to retrieve your things at a later time but until then he'll be showing you where your new 'home' will be.

Because you were recommended by an actual Avenger you get special benefits such as a personal room. The SHIELD soldiers stayed in comfortable bunkers where they are easily accessible when an attack happens.

When an attack happens. You hated that part because it's going to happen at any moment.

People like you, the 'brains' and 'techies' get rooms in different sections of SHIELD where it's the least dangerous since the information that you learn would be of value to some evil people.  
That day you also found out that because you specialize in patterns, algorithms, and statistics you will be charting the Avengers and their progress.

You tripped over yourself when this news came out, they explained that although the heroes are very well equipped it doesn't hurt to keep tabs on them and work on improvements, plus SHIELD apparently needed to better their relationship with the heroes and this was one way to do it.

You move in within the day and by that night you were trying to make your room as comfortable as possible. As you're in the middle of hanging your clothes in the closet a knock at the door interrupts you. You answer it to see Agent Coulson standing there with a half-smile and folder.

"First Assignment and instructions." That's all he says before leaving. You stare at the empty space he was just in before closing the door.

You flip open the folder and read the top of the document. Your first assignment was with Captain America.

Holy shit.

You check the time on your alarm clock and see you have around 12 hours to prepare, but it wasn't nearly enough time.


End file.
